Chapter 7
SEVEN
Lit by stringed lights, a bonfire, and the stars above, the reception showed no signs of winding down long after the sun had set.
I huddled in a quiet place near the fire, thankful for Percy’s warmth as he lay across my feet.
I’d snuck out to my car hours ago, looking for something to put on over my flimsy dress to keep the cold out.
Zane’s gameday jersey was the only thing I found.
Though the fabric was thick and did the job, I didn’t exactly look like a fashionista wearing a hockey jersey over a full-length gown. But the theme of the day was to be myself, right? Truth be told, I was more well-known for my color-coded sticky notes back home than for my fashion sense.
It was official. Vacation Wren was fading, her wild spark dimming as Bookstore Wren began to claim her rightful place at the top of the food chain. Come Monday, I’d be neck deep in my quiet life, far away from this fairy-tale weekend.
Could a huge figure like Zane fit into my little world?
The lives we lived seemed a universe apart.
His world was all spotlights and slapshots.
Mine was about cozy reading corners and alphabetized bookshelves.
My stomach twisted into a knot as I considered this latest hurdle.
Was it even possible to blend two lives together that were so different?
My head ached from all the over-thinking I’d been doing lately.
I squeezed my eyes shut and focused on the least complicated thing in my life—work.
My phone glowed as I typed a few last-minute ideas for the book signing I was coordinating.
In two short weeks, one of the most celebrated romance authors of our time would grace my store.
Everything had to be perfect for Daphne Rose Love.
My icy fingers struggled to type fast enough to keep up with the ideas in my head.
Percy perked up, his tail wagging as he still lay on my feet.
“Sorry, buddy, I’m fresh out of jerky.” I looked up and saw Zane’s silhouette against the bonfire, his voice warming me up more than the flames that highlighted his muscular frame.
“How about a sausage from the buffet?” He tossed Percy a piece, and it disappeared down his throat a second later.
Zane took a seat beside me on the bench, offering me a plate with a slice of cake on it and a glass of punch. “Sorry it’s not a cupcake. What was my sister thinking, ordering a four-tiered cake but no cupcakes?”
I tucked my phone away, smiling up at him.
“I guess I’ll just have to rough it.” I took the piece of cake he offered.
It looked delicious, but all I could think about was the way the flickering firelight showed off the perfect cut of Zane’s jawline.
Every feature of his face looked like it’d been chiseled by one of the old masters.
Not a hair on his head was out of place.
Was he even real?
There was a toughness to his exterior that I was sure helped him on the ice. But I could see the gentleness just beneath the surface, even if his opponents couldn’t. Every part of me wanted to get to know that version of Zane better.
But was that even practical, given all the roadblocks we faced?
The music pumped onto the outdoor dance floor changed from a thrumming pulse to a slow ballad. The guests paired off, swaying to the rhythm, but I was content where I was.
Zane caught me looking. “You hiding out over here?” He nudged me with his shoulder. “Doesn’t seem like you.”
“Unfortunately, it’s exactly like me.” I sighed.
“I’ve got a confession, and you’re probably not going to like it.
” My heart hammered against my ribs. “When I came here, I let loose and became a flirty vacation girl. But that’s not who I really am.
I’m a boring bookworm at heart. I geek out over nineteenth-century literature, not hockey goals. ”
I took a deep breath, fighting the next words to come out of my mouth. “We’ve had fun, but let’s be honest. You’re a celebrity; I’m a nobody. Now you have this amazing chance to join a winning team on the other side of the country. Our lives… they just don’t fit.”
“What about our lips? You think those could fit?”
The air around us charged with a primal electricity like I’d never felt before.
His mouth crashed into mine. I stiffened for a fraction of a second, trying to understand what was happening, but I melted the instant his hand cupped my cheek.
He slid even closer on the bench. My head spun as the scent of cedar and citrus overwhelmed my senses in the best kind of way.
His sculpted body pressed into me, begging for a response.
With both hands full, I had to decide whether to hold onto Percy’s leash or my dessert.
Knowing that Percy wouldn’t go anywhere as long as I still had a slice of cake, I dropped his leash.
The moment I slid my hand up Zane’s chest and around the back of his neck, I also dropped every reservation I’d mulled over that day.
Rippling waves of heat rolled off his body as he wove his fingers into the hair at the base of my neck.
Fireworks went off in the pit of my stomach when he gave my hair a gentle tug, tilting my chin up and exposing my neck to the cool night air.
I answered with a small gasp against his lips, and he smiled, his fingers further tangling in my hair.
My lips still tingled as his mouth wandered across my jawline and found its way down my neck.
He stopped at the collar of the jersey he’d given me and breathed me in with the hint of a growl rumbling deep in his chest. “I told you, you look good in my colors.” His index finger traced the contour of the V-neck with a gentle yet deliberate touch.
Resting his forehead against mine, he took a deep breath followed by a sigh.
“I don’t really want to bring this up right now, but I’ve got a confession of my own.
” He paused, squeezing his eyes shut. I froze.
My stomach clenched as I braced for his revelation.
“I don’t even know how to tell you, but I guess I’d better spit it out. ”
I waited for him to continue, making a mental note of what it felt like to be held by such a strong man—by my friend who had the potential to become so much more—just in case this was the last time.
“I’m…”
“It’s okay, Zane,” I whispered, putting on a brave face, but secretly terrified that his confession might put an end to what was happening between us. “You can tell me.”
He sighed, taking my upper arms in his solid grip. “I’m a cat person.”
His eyes twinkled in the firelight, but my brain was too busy glitching out to take much notice. “What?”
He shrugged. “I know you’re a dog person, but I don’t really have any choice in the matter.” He ran his fingers across the Bobcat’s logo on my jersey. Shivers raced through my body at lightning speed. “I’m pretty sure it’s a team requirement,” he said, hardly containing his teasing grin.
I laughed, finally catching on to his joke. “Total deal-breaker,” I said. “Right, Percy?”
My big, black furball looked up at us, panting and wagging his floofy tail.
Zane’s eyes searched mine, their teasing flicker morphing into something more serious. His brows pinched. Was he confused or sad? Maybe he was a little bit of both. “I almost got the impression earlier that you thought your confession would scare me off.”
“Well, I’m kind of a boring person.”
He slipped an arm around my waist. “You are the opposite of boring. The more I learn about you, the more I want to know.” Truth resonated in each word he said. He tucked my hair behind my ear with such a gentle touch that I’d have gone weak in the knees if I’d been standing.
My breath caught in my chest when he brought his lips to mine once again—warm, soft, and earnest. Heat a million times hotter than the bonfire in front of us exploded in my chest when he intertwined his fingers with mine and continued to show me just how interested he was.
It was like I was living one of Daphne Rose Love’s happily ever after kisses.
It was the kind of kiss that seemed to promise forever, and I gave in to it, choosing to let go of my fears.
Maybe someone like me really could make it work with someone like him.
No man could kiss a woman the way Zane kissed me and not mean it. Could he?
Zane couldn’t be the player people made him out to be.
Maybe he wasn’t a charmer, after all; maybe he was my Prince Charming.
My lids fluttered open, expecting to meet Zane’s crystal-blue eyes.
I wanted one more look at the intensity in them, proof that he really wasn’t playing games with my heart.
But instead of looking into his eyes, what felt like a hundred flashes of light seared my retina. I winced and turned my face away.
The commotion set Percy off. He jumped to his feet and barked at a gaggle of camera-toting men that had snuck up on us in the dark.
He lunged and I grabbed for his leash, knocking my punch over and spilling it on the bench beside me.
I grimaced as the liquid ran toward my dress and soaked through the fabric.
Zane helped me reel Percy in, but my faithful dog never took his eyes off the paparazzi invaders. He stepped backward toward me, his tail swiping my cake right off the plate and smearing it down the front of my dress.
Once Percy was calm enough not to drag me off the bench, Zane got to his feet. “What do you think you’re doing?” he shouted at the men. “This is a private party.”
“We can see that,” a short man said with a suggestive lilt in his voice that made me want to go take a shower.
FLASH!
Another camera went off. “What’s the new flavor of the month, Hayes? Do you know her name yet?” another man called out from the group.
“My money’s on schoolteacher. How ‘bout it, Zane? Is she your new tutor? What’s she teaching you?”
“Oh, he already knows all the moves,” the first man replied.
“You shut your mouth!” Zane’s voice boomed.
My cheeks turned red-hot. If only I could have seen past the spots swirling in my vision, I might have been able to lob what was left of my cake at the guy.
A crowd of wedding guests pressed in, drawn to the commotion. Zane’s teammates crowded between us and the uninvited guests. Bri’s voice came from somewhere in the crowd to my left. “This is not a public space. Get out or I’m calling the police and having you removed.”
The group started to move off, but not before one of them asked Zane for a comment. “Does the King of the Ice have anything to say about his Queen of Icing?”
I looked down at my wrecked gown, mortified as another series of flashes went off.
I heard a scuffle but couldn’t tell what was happening through the press of bodies as I still struggled to reclaim my vision. Blinking several times, I pulled Percy close, hiding my cake-smeared dress behind him.
“I feel sorry for her,” a woman said behind me.
“It’s classic Zane”—came another woman’s voice—“kissing for the cameras.”
I felt like I was going to be sick.
A mix of bridesmaids and other young women gathered around me, pity oozing from their pores.
“Don’t feel too bad,” one of them said. “A few of us have fallen for his lines at one point or another. It’s like they say, you can’t find your prince without kissing a few toads.
” After a few sympathetic pats, the girls drifted off, and I was left standing there—frosted in icing, dripping punch, and wearing my heart on my sleeve.
My gut twisted.
I had to get out of there. I clutched Percy’s leash and dashed toward the shadows. Not only did I have to get away, I had to do it without being seen. I wasn’t built for a life in the tabloids.
I made it to my car unseen and shut Percy and myself in. I wiped the tears from my cheeks with the back of my arm before clutching the steering wheel with trembling hands. I rested my forehead against it, taking deep breaths to calm my nerves.
“Wren!” Zane called out.
I turned on the ignition, but Zane made it to my window before I could pull away.
“Wren, don’t go.”
I put my window down. “This was a mistake.”
“What? No, it was just those guys—”
“Zane, please. I need to go.”
“Not like this.” The pleading tone in his voice tugged on my heart, but I didn’t know what to think.
Maybe he was genuine, maybe he wasn’t. I wanted to believe him, but I didn’t know if my heart could take it.
“Wren,” he said, his voice strained and his knuckles white as he clung to my door, “you can’t believe anything those people say. They don’t know me.”
I looked up at him, blinking back my tears. “Honestly, Zane,” my voice cracked, “neither do I.” Percy whined in the backseat when I put the car in gear. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go.”
“Don’t go like this,” he said again, his Adam’s apple bobbing with pent-up emotion.
My lips quivered, still burning from the way he’d kissed me. “Good luck on your new team. You’re going to do amazing things.” I swallowed the knot in my throat as I rolled up my window and placed a hand on my gearshift.
Zane stepped back, pain pinching his brows.
I backed out of my parking space and took off down the road. At the stop sign, I checked my rearview mirror. Zane stood in the middle of the street, silhouetted by the light of an antique lamppost. My chest tightened when his shoulders rounded, and he turned to walk back to the park alone.
That stupid fantasy that Zane could be my Prince Charming sent hot, angry tears to my eyes. The only similarities my life had with a storybook fairy tale was that I was Cinderella, and the clock had just struck twelve. But I hadn’t left behind a glass slipper or a phone number.
Vacation was over, and this Cinderella was done.